Fox News Tries To Manufacture Outrage Over Disneyland’s New Snow White Ride

As Disneyland finally reopens to the public, parkgoers will encounter a brand new ride based on the classic animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The ride formerly known as Snow White’s Scary Adventures has now been replaced with Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, a modernized update designed to make the ride less scary for children. This is a solid idea, as the older ride was, shall we say, wicked witch-oriented? But while the updated ride has garnered its share of fans, it was also the subject of an op-ed in the SFGate.

Managing Editor Katie Dowd and writer Julie Tremaine give the updated ride a glowing review, lauding the new audio and visual technology of the ride. Their only issue with the ride is the inclusion of the “true love’s kiss” scene, where the prince kisses the sleeping Snow White to break the spell. That kiss is, of course, non-consensual, and doesn’t quite jibe with the other cultural remodels occurring in the park (like upgrades to Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain). They write, “Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK?”.

Fair enough, I guess. But while the writers mention issues of consent in an otherwise positive review of the ride, the people at Fox News have latched onto this as the latest culture war battle cry against the “woke liberal mob.” Fox News has devoted multiple segments to this faux outrage, spinning a single paragraph about consent into a Everything Wrong With Democrats. They even roped in Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who clearly has nothing better to do with his time:

In total, Fox News referenced the ride at least nine times yesterday, with Fox Business Network touching on it five separate times as well. I guess no longer having Trump in office has sent Fox News scrambling for a bid at relevancy. And this is what they chose. Their panic echoes the recent Orlando Sentinel op-ed by Jonathan VanBoskerck, who complained that “wokeness” was ruining the Disney parks experience.

Again, all this manufactured outrage is a response to a single paragraph in an online review of a theme park ride. And while your feelings on the article may vary, it’s absolutely absurd for Fox News to counter a paragraph of “liberal outrage” with a day full of conservative outrage coverage. It’s an outrage culture ouroboros of bad faith jammed between commercials for catheters and mesothelioma lawsuits. Do better, everyone.

Fox News’s fixation on this paragraph also belies how little they have to say in the face of the uncontroversial and largely successful first 100 days of the Biden presidency. Without a Black president to attack or an orange president to deify, they’re all out of ideas. Maybe they’ll get lucky and catch Joe Biden in a tan suit.

(via The Daily Beast, image: screencap)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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